Finding The Way Back
by Jada Flame
Summary: Chapter 6, the last chapter. All done. Bye bye.
1. Accident

All right, you court-case-happy people who own Digimon, I don't own them, I'm just borrowing them for the duration of the fic!!! (Except for Koushiro- he's going to be mine forever!!!! :)) And now with that said, on with the story!! (Which I am not sure qualifies for angst...)  
  
  
Finding The Way Back  
  
  
She should have felt wonderful. Daisuke had stopped hitting on her, the sun was shining, she had new clothes, and no one left even her slightest desire or whim go unfulfilled.  
She should have felt happy.  
But she didn't.  
A fresh flood of tears cascaded down Hikari's cheeks as Takeru's casket was lowered into the ground. The freshly cut headstone read,   
Takeru Takaishi.  
1988-2001.  
May his memory help all to find hope.  
Takeru's crest was engraved into the stone above his name. All around Hikari, the other Chosen Children remained silent. Even Daisuke was stricken, his normally smug face filled with grief. Sora, Mimi, and Miyako were all crying and holding onto Taichi, Jyou and Ken respectively. The three boys, as well as Iori, Yamato and Koushiro were doing their best to hold back tears and not being entirely successful. Hikari stepped mechanically forward and sprinkled a handful of dirt over the coffin. She stared down into the abyss that had swallowed up Takeru's body  
Takeru... she thought. I love you so much... Hikari wondered if maybe she should jump down too, and be reunited with him. Anything to see Takeru again, she thought. She had almost convinced herself to jump when a light touch on her shoulder started her back to reality. She turned around and saw Koushiro, pain and concern evident on his face. Suddenly grateful for his presence, she turned and sobbed into his shoulder. Through the haze of grief, Hikari distantly felt Koushiro's arms go around her. They stood like that for a long time as Takeru's grave was filled.  
  
  
  
  
"Hikari? Can I get you anything?"  
Hikari looked up to see Koushiro's face. It was two weeks after the funeral and Hikari was still feeling miserable. "Koushiro? What are you doing here?"  
"I come every Tuesday to help Taichi with his algebra, remember?" He sat down next to her on the couch.  
"Oh yeah... Um, I guess I'm okay for now..."  
"You sure?" His voice was soft and concerned.  
"Well, not really..." Takeru... she thought. A tear rolled down her cheek.  
"You want to talk about it?"  
"I..."  
-headlights, right towards her, speeding, sudden squeal of brakes, a shove in her side that sent her sprawling, a dull thud, a crumpled blonde-haired laying under the car and the sound of someone screaming-  
"Hikari!! Hikari!!"  
Hikari screamed, jolted out of the nightmare. Koushiro, Taichi, and her mother stared worriedly at her.  
"What happened?" Even to her, her voice sounded haunted.  
Taichi answered her. "I heard Koushiro yell and I ran in and you were having a seizure or something and we were so worried and..." Taichi ran out of air and paused for breath.  
"Hikari, honey, are you okay?"  
Hikari stared at her mother. "Yes, I... It was just so real..."  
"What was real?" Koushiro, radiating anxiety.  
"I... I was there, that night... I remembered what happened and it was so awful..." Her face contorted as she held back tears.  
"Here, Hikari, it's okay. You just go lay down on the couch and rest. Here, I'll make you some tea."  
"Thanks, Mom." Hikari curled up and sipped while Koushiro finished helping Taichi. Suddenly, she felt very tired. As she was drifting off, Koushiro collected his jacket and came over to the couch.  
"Remember," he said, "If you need support, we're all here for you."  
She smiled wanly at him. "Thanks," she said, and slept.  
  
  
  
So should I continue? Please R&R!!!!  



	2. Digiworld Reactions

Hi, everybody!! This is the second chapter (duh!) of the story, and sorry to all you people out there who objected to me killing off Takeru... I'm sad myself, believe me, but it was a necessary evil. I thought it would make a better story if Takeru was dead and Hikari was really sad. The only other alternative I could think of was for Takeru and Hikari to have a fight and break up, and I just couldn't bring myself to do it. But enough with explanations, on with the story!! (Oh yeah, I use Japanese names for the kids but not the Digimon because I don't know all the Digimon names in Japanese.) (Just in case anyone cared.)  
  
WARNING: THIS IS THE AUTHOR'S FIRST ATTEMPT TO WRITE DIGIMON/DIGIMON ROMANCE. PLEASE DISREGARD ANY UNNATURAL SAPPINESS. THANK YOU.  
  
Chapter Two  
  
  
It was two weeks after the tragic accident, and no one had seen Gatomon since the short memorial service that was held for Patamon. Tentomon's only thought as he flew towards his tree was one of concern for the feline Digimon. What if, in her state of despair, a hostile Digimon had attacked her? Tentomon thought that perhaps she just would let herself be deleted rather than go on alone. Or even worse, what if she'd purposely deleted herself? Even though Tentomon could not think of Gatomon doing such a thing, the thought kept surfacing. He reached his tree and nestled in one of the upper branches, letting the wind blow past his shell. He shivered slightly as a particularly hard gust almost knocked his talons away from the rough bark. One bright thought surfaced amid all the gloomy thoughts of Gatomon- even if the wind was cold, it still was a beautiful sunset.   
Tentomon sighed and stared as the light made beautiful patterns on a distant cliff. Suddenly he tensed, watching the cliff. Was it just his imagination, or had he seen a small flash of white just then? Tentomon decided that it was worth checking out. He opened his wings and buzzed off in investigation. As he approached the cliff, a small spot of pure white came into focus and eventually resolved into a feline Digimon that took off running the instant she saw Tentomon. He increased his speed and eventually came within earshot.  
"Gatomon! Please don't run! Gatomon!" When Gatomon didn't respond, Tentomon flew down and directly into her path with a quick burst of speed. "Gatomon, what are you doing? Where have you been?" With a fresh note of surprise, Tentomon noticed traces of tears in Gatomon's eyes. "Gatomon, please answer me!"  
"I... I miss Patamon... Sunsets are the worst... We used to watch them together every night... Right on that cliff..." The tears started again.  
"Oh, please, Gatomon, don't cry! Look, I know you miss Patamon- we all do- but please, don't let yourself fade away too!"   
To Tentomon's surprise, Gatomon lashed out in anger. "How dare you talk about Patamon that way! He was my best friend and I'm never going to let his memory go!" Her voice abruptly broke, becoming soft and sorrowful. "You don't know what it's like for me. I've been sitting out here on this cliff every night since... since it happened. I've been crying myself to sleep. Some days I can't remember if I've remember if I've eaten anything... All that exists are me and the sunsets and the memories..."  
Tentomon had listened with growing horror as Gatomon described the way she had been living. For the first time, he noted how thin she had become under her glossy coat, now dull with dust. He abruptly made a decision. "Gatomon, you're staying in my tree until you're healthy."  
"What! No, I, I have to stay, Patamon, he needs me.." Her words were accompanied by a weak beating at Tentomon's shell as he flew over and grabbed Gatomon around the waist. Her weight had dropped so much that it was no hard task for Tentomon to deposit her safely in the tree, a good mile from the cliff.   
"Gatomon, you are staying here with me until you are healthy enough to go out."  
'But... I..."  
"Please, Gatomon. It's tearing me up to see you like this. I'm sure Patamon wouldn't want to see you like this either."  
"Don't use Patamon against me like that!" A sudden panic attacked her voice. "Oh, God, Patamon, why did you have to leave me?"  
Surprised at the sudden outburst, Tentomon awkwardly hugged Gatomon. "It'll be alright, Gatomon. Just get some rest."  
"But..."  
"Ssssh. Sleep." Gatomon's weak mumblings of "Patamon..." eventually faded into steady, even breathing.   
Looking down at Gatomon's beautiful white fur shining in the moonlight, Tentomon made a vow to never let such pain enter Gatomon's life again if he had anything to say about it. No one would ever hurt her this deep again. Her eyes were not meant to be steeped in such sorrow as they had been that night. If only to keep that look from her face, Tentomon thought, I will protect her.  
  
  
  
  
  
AN: Scary, wasn't it? Please review! (Oh, and typing out flames is an unnecessary expenditure of precious calories, cause they are ignored!! :-P)  



	3. Dark Tears

AN: Oh, boy, third chapter!! You guys, PUH-LEEEEEEZE review this, I love getting reviews!! ^_^ So anyways, in keeping with the alternating thing, this chapter is Koukari. I think I will end this story after five chapters, because I'm running out of ideas. Ja ne, and on with the fic!! (Oh yeah, I don't own Digimon. Did I remember a disclaimer last chapter? @_@)  
  
  
Chapter Three  
  
  
"Hikari Yagami, are you listening?"  
Hikari looked blankly up from her book. "Huh?"  
The teacher towered over her, glaring. "I asked you if you were listening. This is the tenth time in the past three days! You had better be showing some more interest soon, young lady, if you want a passing grade in this class!" Finished with his tirade, the teacher clomped back to his desk and resumed the lesson.  
"Yeah... whatever..." Hikari whispered in a small defeated voice. She actually hadn't been paying attention for the last few days. It was nearing the end of the school year, and she suspected that she had been the unlucky one singled out for the scolding. Of lately she had been contemplating her mortality, as she neared her graduation from seventh grade.  
*Graduation...* she thought. *The first year he won't be with me...* A single tear rolled down her cheek and fell to the ground. It was as dark as night.  
  
****  
  
"Hikari? Can I sit with you?"  
Hikari looked up from her lunch at Koushiro. "Um... yeah, I guess..."  
Koushiro took his seat and began picking at the macaroni casserole on his plate. "I'm still not sure if this is really food. For all we know, they could be serving us toxic waste!" (AN: This is an actual subject of discussion between my best guy friend and me. You never can tell with school food... ^_~) He grinned at his own joke but stopped when Hikari failed to smile back at him. "Hikari, what's wrong?"  
"Nothing!! I just... just..."  
"It's about Takeru, isn't it?"  
"...Yeah..." A tear started to form at the corner of her eye.  
"Do you want to talk about it?"  
The tear made it halfway down her cheek. Koushiro handed her a napkin. "Here. You're crying."  
"Thanks." She wiped the drop of water away and stared at the wet spot it made on the napkin. If she stared hard enough, it looked almost like Takeru...  
"Hikari?"  
"Huh?"  
"You zoned out for a minute there. Are you sure you're okay? After you went into that seizure last night, I'm worried about you."  
"Yeah, I'll be fine. I think I'll be okay now." Making a half-hearted attempt to change the subject, she added, "How come you're sitting over here? Your normal table still has some empty seats."  
Koushiro thought a minute before answering. "Well," he said slowly, "I was going to sit down over there, but I saw you sitting over here all alone... You really haven't socialized much since the... since the accident."  
Hikari mulled over the answer. "Oh." A beat of silence passed. "Thanks." He smiled wanly at her.  
The rest of the lunch period passed in silence. About a minute before the bell rang, Koushiro stood up. "I better go empty my lunch tray. You sure you'll be all right?" She nodded. "Okay," he said, with a tone meaning he only half-believed her, "I'll see you later."   
He started for the trashcans when a voice pulled him back. "Wait." Hikari stood up with books in hand. "Could you come over and spend the night?" The words came out in a rush, as though she had been waiting to say them for a long time and she dared not wait any longer lest she lose her courage.  
He contemplated her with a puzzled look. "I think so. I would have to consult my parents before agreeing to any sleepover. May I ask why?"  
"I... I just... I've been having nightmares, and... and you always seem to know what to say so I feel better." Koushiro blushed slightly at this but she didn't notice. "Besides, my dad's on a business trip and we could use the extra help if I have another seizure. Mom said if I wanted a friend over to help me, I could."  
"Okay. I'll ask my parents when I get home and if they say yes, I'll come over to your place around nine or so. Is that all right with you?"  
"Yeah..." They stood there until the bell rang. "I'll talk to you later, Koushiro."  
"Bye!" he yelled as he hurried towards his next class.  
  
****  
  
That night at the Yagami apartment, Hikari couldn't sleep. She hadn't told anyone, not even Koushiro, but every night she cried herself to sleep over Takeru. As she lay in bed, she felt as though she should cry again, but the tears wouldn't come. Hikari felt like she was trapped in a dark room, cornered by her despair. She failed to notice the dark tendrils coiling into a portal-like shape in the air above her.  
Suddenly a faint noise made her gasp and brought her into an upright position. There in the space beside her bed, was a dark circle, almost like a mirror. And in the center of the circle was... "Takeru?" Hikari gasped in disbelief. Even as she said his name, the image faded. "Wait, Takeru, don't go! I can't lose you twice!" To her amazement, the image grew stronger the more desperate she felt. Takeru looked so real...   
Hikari reached for his hand, but he faded back with a distant-sounding, "Hikari..."  
"Wait!" she cried. "I'll do anything! Just don't take Takeru from me!"  
*Gooooood...* a voice mumbled from inside her. *The portal grows stronger with each drop of despair... You can keep the portal open... But not from here... Closer to the spirit world...*  
"Yes..." whispered Hikari. "Closer..."  
  
****  
  
In a different part of the apartment, Koushiro was also awake, but for different reasons. He was pondering his relationship with Hikari. *Well, I obviously have feelings for her...* he thought. *But isn't this kind of taking advantage of the situation? She is obviously still depressed over Takeru's death. I guess if I don't actually confess my feelings toward her, I can keep her safe, if for nothing else than Takeru's memory...* A faint cry from Hikari's room jolted Koushiro out of his musings. Grabbing his digivice, for all the good it would do without Tentomon, he slipped from his resting place on the Yagami's couch and headed for Hikari's room.  
The first impression that Koushiro got of Hikari's room was that there was an almost tangible sense of despair pervading the atmosphere. Hikari was sitting on her bed, back to the door, bowed over.  
"Hikari? Are you awake?"  
"I'm fine," came the answer.  
"Good, because I thought I heard you yell." When Hikari didn't move, he asked, "Is there anything I can do for you?"  
"Yes," said Hikari.   
*Her voice is almost mechanical, * thought Koushiro. "What can I do?" he said out loud.  
"Answer this: is the digital world closer to the spirit world than the real world?"  
"Well, yes, I suppose you could look at it that way. Digimon are able to be reborn, so in a sense, there is reincarnation of old spirits who are able to transfer from the land of the dead to the land of the living."  
"Thank you, Koushiro. That is all I need to know." She stood up and crossed to her computer, turning it on.  
"May I ask why you wanted to know?" The computer screen winked on.  
"That is none of your business."  
"Hikari? Are you okay?"  
She finally turned her face towards Koushiro, and he gasped. Her eyes were completely black. "When I return, I will bring Takeru with me. Farewell, Koushiro." With that, Hikari opened a portal on the computer to the digital world and disappeared with a flash of crackling lightning.  
"HIKARI! WAIT!" Without a moment's hesitation, Koushiro pointed his digivice towards the computer and linked through the portal an instant before it closed.  
  
  
AN: Ooooo, I am evil, no? MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! I will try to get the next part out faster than I did this one. Ja ne!! ^_^  



	4. Realizations

Disclaimer: Don't sue me, I don't own them. Except for Kou-chan. He's MINE!!!! MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!  
  
  
  
Chapter 4 (oh boy!!!)  
  
  
  
Gatomon awoke to find a bird staring her in the face. *It must be awfully hungry to come down near my shelter...* she thought. *I thought for sure that bad smelling plant would have kept it away...* Suddenly she gasped as the entire ground swung back and forth in time to the breeze blowing merrily by. She rolled over on her stomach... and fell out of the tree with all the grace and aerodynamic efficiency of an anvil. Groggy as she was, she couldn't twist around enough to land on her feet in time. She saw the ground rushing up at her- And with a sudden jerk and buzz of wings, she found herself being pulled back up to the branch.  
Tentomon- who, of course, was the one who had saved her- immediately began telling her off for moving around before she was fully recovered, and for not exercising more care in the tree, and didn't she know she had made him drop easily bruised fruit to save her?  
Gatomon took it all silently, knowing that the insectoid Digimon was just concerned for her. It almost reminded her of the concern Patamon used to show for her, before... A tear slid out from one eye before she could stop it and Tentomon immediately noticed.  
"Gatomon? I'm terribly sorry if I've said anything to upset you."  
"No, it wasn't your fault, Tentomon, it's just..."  
"What?" His voice was as gentle as she'd ever heard it.  
"I... I feel kind of stupid for telling you, but... the way you were acting, it reminded me of Patamon and the way he used look out for me..."  
"So it was something I said! I knew I shouldn't have been so harsh on you, you were sick and I shouldn't have raised my voice and..." He rambled on about how his manners seemed to be vanishing for about 30 seconds before Gatomon was able to get a word in edgewise.  
"Its not your fault! It was just old memories coming back..."  
"Yes, but its my fault you had to remember anything that would cause you pain!"  
"Oh, fine, have it your way..." Gatomon was slowly remembering another time that Tentomon had protected her, albeit as MegaKabuterimon. The battle with LadyDevimon floated in her mind, as she remembered how he had caught when an attack had sent her reeling, and how later MegaKabuterimon had thrown himself in front of the attack LadyDevimon had aimed at her, resulting in LadyDevimon breaking a nail and losing the battle. Gatomon suddenly realized that Tentomon had always been looking out for her, right along with Patamon. Realization dawned on her. She didn't need to cut herself off from everybody else, because Tentomon would help her through the storm of dark emotions, would protect her from the grief, just like he protected her from everything else.  
Tentomon noticed the sudden smile that crept onto her face. "I'm sorry to interrupt your thoughts, but might I ask what you're smiling about?"  
"I just realized... you've been protecting me too this whole time... I was so upset about Patamon, I just failed to realize it. I'm sorry about shutting myself off to all of you... you especially must have been worried sick..."  
"I was. When you were gone, it was like... I couldn't find anything left to be glad about. I was worried that maybe you'd deleted yourself out of grief... I still am..." Tentomon admitted.  
"You don't need to anymore," Gatomon said bluntly. "I'm going to stay and fight the sadness right here, with you. You've always protected me, and I've been such a baka not to notice it before."  
"Gatomon..." Tentomon couldn't speak out of sheer joy.  
Suddenly, a beam of pure light shot from the sky and resolved itself into a portal similar to a mirror. Gatomon and Tentomon were paralyzed with shock.  
"What is it?" Tentomon whispered.  
"I'm not sure... it doesn't look threatening... Look! A face! Is that..."  
"Oh, sweet Goddramon..." Tentomon breathed. "Patamon!?!"  
The image of Patamon smiled. "Yes, it's me. I came to thank you, Gatomon, before I go to the afterlife. I'd come back, but I died in the real world, so I can't be reformatted. Besides, Takeru can't come back, so..." The image looked sad for a second.  
"Why did you want to thank me?" asked Gatomon.  
"Because I couldn't go to the afterlife until you let go. By realizing that you could still be happy without me, by realizing that you and Tentomon could be happy together, by accepting my death, you freed me. And it is for that last act that I thank you." Gatomon smiled with tears in her eyes.  
The image turned to Tentomon. "My time is almost up. Tentomon, you've been a good friend. Take care of Gatomon for me, alright?" Tentomon nodded, tears forming in his own eyes.  
Patamon started to fade away. "I love you, Gatomon. Goodbye..." The image faded and the beam broke into a million fragments that sparkled and danced in the sun as they showered down over the two Digimon.  
Tentomon and Gatomon stood transfixed for a few seconds, then turned towards each other with tears in their eyes and a slight blush on their faces.   
"I'm never going to forget him," Gatomon whispered.  
"Neither will I."  
"Did you mean what you promised?"  
Tentomon's insectoid face managed to look slightly confused and extremely embarrassed at the same time. "What are you talking about?"  
"You promised Patamon that you would take care of me for him. Did you mean it?"  
The awkwardness suddenly left Tentomon's face. "I promised Patamon from the very bottom of my soul and now I promise you in the same way. Gatomon, I promise to protect and cherish you forever."  
"And I you," she whispered, tears flowing freely down her face. Her paws found Tentomon's talons and they stood there staring into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity. They finally broke each other's gaze and looked at the ground.   
Gatomon spoke first. "Since when was the sun setting?"  
Tentomon frowned at the celestial body nearing the end of its daily journey. "I suppose when the portal opened, a temporary warp was created in time and the rest of the day passed faster than normal."  
"Do you have to sound like Koushiro? Oh... that reminds me..."  
"Reminds you of what?"  
"I haven't seen Hikari since the accident." Gatomon's voice trembled slightly on the last word but she took a deep breath and continued. "I was so busy shutting myself off that I completely ignored her... She must be feeling awful and it's all my fault..."  
Tentomon attempted to comfort her. "It's not your fault entirely. I mean, you were dealing with grief and you got distracted. She'll understand."  
"Yes, I guess you're right. Tentomon?"  
"What?"  
"Can we contact Hikari tomorrow and ask her to visit so I can apologize?"  
"Of course, Gato-chan."  
Gatomon giggled sleepily. Apparently, the day's events had taken a toll on her already exhausted body. "I like it when you say that... Can we go to sleep down here? I'm too tired to climb..." The cat Digimon curled up and was asleep. The last thing she heard was, "Anything for you, Gato-chan..."  
  
  
Later that night...  
  
Gatomon suddenly sat up in the darkness. Tentomon noticed a change in her breathing pattern and came over from where he was standing guard. "What is it, Gatomon?"  
"It's Hikari! I feel her here!"  
Tentomon suddenly noticed a strange feeling in the back of his mind. "Koushiro's here too! But why would they come so late?" He looked at Gatomon and gasped. She was trembling with fear or cold. "Gatomon! Are you okay?"  
"It's Hikari," Gatomon gasped. "And something's wrong with her..."  
  
  
  
AN: Me: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! THE EVIL CLIFFHANGER STRIKES YET AGAIN!!!!! Sorry for any out-of-character-ishness, love makes Digimon do strange things... Izzy: ... -_-;   
Me: I am sincerely sorry for the wait, hopefully I will get the next chapter out a little faster than this one...   
Izzy: *mutters* Yeah, right...   
Me: Quiet, you. Anyways, please review and ja ne!!!!  



	5. The Dark Portal

AN: So I lied about getting the last part out fast. First of all, it obviously hasn't been fast, plus I'm adding another chapter, so I can procrastinate some more. So sue me. On second thought, don't, because Digimon isn't mine, and besides, I'm broke anyway. *Chibi Izzy, hereafter known as Chi-kun, groans.*  
  
Chapter Five (ooooo, nice number...)  
  
  
"HIKARI!! WAIT!!" Koushiro yelled, and linked through the portal. He felt first the rush of air around him during the familiar transition to the digital world, then the hard ground as he sprawled forward on his landing. As Koushiro tried to catch his breath, he saw a familiar shape running into the digital night.  
"COME BACK, HIKARI!! YOU'RE NOT THINKING RATIONALLY!!" he yelled, trying to appeal to her. His cries were cut short when he tripped on a bush, causing his ankle to explode with pain.  
Grimacing, he pulled up the pajama leg (AN: Remember he was supposed to be sleeping? I've never seen the older kids get different clothes when they transfer. Anyway!) and inspected the offending joint. The skin had begun to mottle with purple bruising and the foot was bent at an unnatural angle, definitely broken.  
Knowing before he even tried that it was hopeless, Koushiro tested his weight on the foot gingerly. The resulting pain was so great that it induced wave upon wave of gut-twisting nausea, and he rolled over onto his side, trying desperately not to be sick. Even so, he had nearly passed out twice before a familiar pair of pincers clamped onto his right arm, steadying him.  
"Koushiro!! What in Goddramon's name are you doing out here at this hour?"  
"I...Ah!" Koushiro grimaced as his foot was bumped slightly. "I came after Hikari... She said something about the spirit world being closer to the digital world than our own and just came here with no further explanation other than saying she would bring Takeru back with her..."  
"She said WHAT!!" cried a female voice. Peering through the red mist that had formed in front of his eyes, Koushiro was able to make out Gatomon's form as she pressed on with her questioning. "She should know better than to disrupt the barrier around the spiritual plane! What did she look like? Was she feeling all right? Did she look normal? This isn't something Hikari would do normally- evil forces are at work here. Well?"  
"Now that I think about it, she looked somewhat possessed. Her eyes were completely blank... black..." He trailed off as another wave of nausea rolled over him.  
"Black... Well, that's just great. My partner's been possessed, is on a weird mission to do who knows what to the spiritual barrier, I haven't had my usual morning catnip, and your ankle's broken. How can things get any worse?"  
As if to mock her, a Monochromon appeared, quite annoyed at having its sleep interrupted by noisy Digimon. A quick digivolve by Tentomon was needed to escape the resulting rampage, as Gatomon was still weak from the previous day's events. Koushiro decided it would be best to take advantage of Kabuterimon's increased size and speed to search for Hikari, and after several agonizing minutes during which his ankle was splinted clumsily using two sticks and several pieces of cloth ripped from his pajama top, the trio was hurtling through the night sky.  
  
*********  
  
Meanwhile, a solitary figure stood on the edge of a cliff, arms raised to the sky. Dark, shadowy shapes, each giving off an almost tangible aura of evil, were gathering.  
"Takeru, Takeru, come back to me, Takeru..." The figure continued to chant this one phrase over and over, gradually gaining in power as the shadows coalesced into a portal, which began to shimmer with a light that was not light at all, but rather rays of a pitch black darkness that seemed to suck the very life out of the surrounding air. As the speaker's chant became more frenzied, the portal began to pulse in time to the words, all the while building the strange black glow.  
Finally, the figure threw back it's head, Hikari's features clearly visible, though Koushiro, who had just rounded the cliff some fifty feet to the right, would never know how the dark light managed to illuminate her face. He caught a glimpse of her face, lit by the darkness, and saw such a terrible beauty there that he was stunned into silence. Gatomon, however, had no such restraints.  
"HIKARI!"  
But the cry was lost in the sudden, impossibly loud inhuman roar that emanated from Hikari, seeming not to come from her mouth, though it was moving, but from her entire body, echoing into the stillness. Only a single word, but that word held so much sorrow, pain, loathing, and evil. Just one word.  
"OPEN!!"  
And all hell broke loose.  
  
****************  
  
AN: Yes, I'm lazy. I'm not even sure if anyone's reading this, seeing as how we're far into the third season already, and no one wants to read about second and first season (remember that?) characters. So if you are reading this, could you please review? It'd really make my day. Thank you. 


	6. Final Encounter

AN: This is the last chapter. Rather lame ending. Enjoy. All done. Bye bye.  
  
Chapter 6  
  
The word still echoed around the walls of the canyon, but no one noticed. For the instant Hikari had spoken, a ring of seething black energy, crackling with power, rippled out in a shockwave from the portal. The instant it hit Hikari, it latched to her body and she began shaking violently.  
  
Koushiro, watching from below, only just managed to dodge the shockwave and watched in horror as Kabuterimon flew up the distance separating him from Hikari.  
  
She was vibrating, so fast her features were blurred. A miniature beam of the dark light hit Hikari in her chest and her body was blasted backwards, still vibrating, leaving a luminescent white form that Koushiro later described as a "shadow copy". Even as he watched, it writhed in what seemed unbearable agony, if the tortured scream that came from its mouth was to be believed. The shadow seemed to hesitate, then was drawn more and more rapidly toward the portal. Koushiro jumped from Kabuterimon, hardly feeling the pain of his broken ankle, and reached Hikari just in time to see the shadow disappear into the portal, which then disappeared in a last outburst of light.  
  
"No!" came the strangled voice of the boy.  
  
Hikari's body ceased vibrating and fell to the ground on top of Koushiro. The extra weight proved to be too much, and the hastily made splint fractured, allowing the ankle to buckle. He crumpled to the ground, tears of pain and frustration mingling on his cheeks.  
  
A short distance away, Kabuterimon landed and allowed Gatomon to hop off before de-digivolving back to his Tentomon form. One look at his life-mate's stricken face and any words died without being spoken. He wrapped one talon around Gatomon's shoulders and watched Koushiro cradle Hikari's body in his lap, rocking back and forth while the tears rained down.  
  
********  
  
It was as if a bucket of ice-cold water had been poured over her head.  
  
Hikari gasped and jerked reflexively. She was in a strange place, where light glowed from everywhere. There seemed to be no bottom to the place, indeed, no sense of up or down either. It was almost as if she was back in that white place, back when Apocalymon had deleted them, and she hated it now with as much of a vengeance as she had then.  
  
An echoing voice sounded, but she wasn't able to distinguish the words until a mist swirled and formed into a viable form in front of her.  
  
"Takeru!" She ran forwards, but he shook his head and drifted back.  
  
"I can't, Hikari... I need your help... I'm suffering here, I need to get on to the next plane..."  
  
"No! Please come back, I, I can't think with you gone..." Hikari was sobbing, tears running down her cheeks as she continued murmuring, sinking into a small ball and rocking.  
  
"Hikari..."  
  
She raised her head.  
  
"You know as well as I do I can't come back... It would tear the connection between the worlds, destroy the links, permit the evil from other realms to come and go as they pleased... You shouldn't be here either, Hikari... It's not your time..."  
  
"But I'm lost without you! I have no one..."  
  
"That's a lie... You have Koushiro..."  
  
"Koushiro?"  
  
"He loves you, Hikari, even if neither of you knows it... If you can permit yourself to love again, I can move on because you won't need me to fill that void in your being..."  
  
Hikari wavered, and in that instant, Takeru saw it.  
  
A tendril of darkness wavered just behind Hikari's ear like a strand of hair.  
  
"Hikari! The dark... it's controlling you! It wants you to break the connection and let it roam free! You have to fight it!"  
  
"But if I let you go, no one will love me."  
  
"That's not true and you know it! Your family and friends love you, especially Koushiro!"  
  
"He doesn't love me..."  
  
"That's the dark talking! Fight it!"  
  
Hikari wavered.  
  
*****************  
  
Koushiro raised Hikari's body close to his head. He whispered through his tears into her lifeless ear.  
  
"Don't go... I love you."  
  
*****************  
  
"I love you."  
  
The words echoed in the white marred by the dark. Hikari raised her head.  
  
"Love?"  
  
Takeru's chest began to glow with the crest of Hope. The darkness shrank a little.  
  
"Koushiro loves... me?"  
  
Hikari's chest began to glow as well with the crest of Light. The dark pulled back and writhed.  
  
"He loves me."  
  
A bolt of pure light shot from Hikari and hit the dark dead center. It shattered into a million pieces. Takeru began to fade.  
  
"Goodbye, Hikari... Thank you... Always remember, hope gives light in the darkness... Don't forget me!"  
  
He disappeared.  
  
Hikari smiled.  
  
*****************  
  
A pure white beam shot from the sky into Hikari's body. She gasped and opened her eyes.  
  
The first thing she saw was Koushiro's astonished face. She smiled and pulled him close.  
  
"I love you too."  
  
Sitting there, kissing Koushiro, Hikari knew everything would be all right. She broke the kiss and whispered, "Let's go home."  
  
FIN  
  
AN: Finally done!! Almost a whole year to write. ::smacks self for laziness::  
Feedback greatly appreciated, and sorry for the wait. To anyone who's been reading since day one: Thanks, guys! 


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